The Black Dahlia (2006)

SO MUCH POTENTIAL, SO MUCH WASTED 6 OUT OF 10

I like crime dramas, they are a very sophisticated form of film and most of them have been compelling and rather interesting and they really know how to deliver plots and twists. This film however, squanders the potential it has by not taking its interesting ideas anywhere. Scenes go back and forth and really don't have much to do with the Black Dahlia murder most of the time, but rather it feels like a chronicle of the life of a cop and his sexcapades while supposedly investigating a murder.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: The time is 1947, and a young fledgling star named Elizabeth Short is found dead, cut in half and her face mutilated. Two detectives Bucky Bleichert and Lee Blanchard are assigned to the case and uncover a plethora of of buried secrets and lies about the murders, all while having relationship problems and threats of being kicked off the investigation for numerous reasons, and sleeping with every chick that comes their way.
STORY: SCORE- 5.5 OUT OF 10- The story presents a lot of interesting ideas, but never properly implements them into the fabric of the plot. Randomly cramming in scenes of sexuality and girl-on-girl scenes is not going to make a compelling crime drama, but rather it is a bit of annoyance, it's more of something that should be kept in the privacy of the bedroom. I'm fine with maybe one or two scenes of that nature, but it cannot be a major component of the damn plot.
MUSIC: SCORE- 8 OUT OF 10- I've always enjoyed the jazzy cop noir themes of this kind of music and it is present and accounted for in here, but it's not the best music for these kinds of themes.
COMPELLING FACTOR: SCORE- 6 OUT OF 10- The story is fairly enjoyable, but the plot twists really aren't things you haven't seen or heard before, so basically it's the same old song and dance of age-old plot twists.
PORN FACTOR: SCORE- 8.5 OUT OF 10- There sure are a lot of scenes of sexuality, and why have these girl-on-girl scenes been added?
PLOT TWISTS: SCORE- 5.5 OUT OF 10- There is basically nothing shocking, nothing surprising, or for that matter, anything you haven't seen already, go get your fix elsewhere. Go, just walk away and go find another crime drama.
OVERALL: SCORE- 6 OUT OF 10- This film's mediocrity is shocking, especially since it was made by the director of Scarface, a much better crime drama. What makes this film all the more sad is the fact the short film; Detective Story from the Animatrix; had a more compelling plot than this... and it was nine minutes long. You're better going and getting your fix from films like Pulp Fiction, Scarface, The Godfather, The Departed, or the superbly crafted animated film Renaissance, or perhaps Sin City. Whatever your preference, you're not missing anything if you don't watch this movie.
THE GOOD: Interesting story ideas, good music, some okay plot twists.
THE BAD: Good ideas don't go anywhere, it's more focused on the sexcapades of a detective and boring relationship problems. June 20, 2008

Nothing but boring...

So the story is cool, some of the imagery is cool, but Josh Hartnett as a detective? No. Also, the pace was slow, and really did not give us much of an ending either.
Now, I am a big advocate of a movie with subtlety, which most people find slow and boring, but this is slow and boring, and without subtlety. Just a reason to put Mia Kirshner in some sexy scenes before she is killed.
Now, this was based on a true event from many years ago, and with true stories, Hollywood normally jazzes them up a bit. Now here, the story was changed and they added some stuff, but you know, it really did not add much to the movie. In the end, the movie is not about the murder or trying to catch a killer, it is about trying to gets more girls to woo over this Josh Hartnett person that can't act to save his life. June 4, 2008

Expectations are an amazing thing...

Expectations can be a funny thing. They are but one factor that effects how much we like or dislike a given movie but nevertheless quite significant. How many movies(or books) did we dislike upon seeing or reading because our expectations were high or awry prior to examination? Have you ever read a book or seen a movie that you had low expectations for that was actually quite enjoyable?

Today I experienced just that with The Black Dahlia. I picked up a used copy for $5.00 knowing how it has been roasted here and elsewhere. Therefore my expectations were quite low. I was infinitely surprised at how entertaining this movie is! Not only was it visually stunning in the usual De Palma fashion but it was intellectually challenging and rewarding. It made me think. I like movies that do that and many don't these days. Too many are formulaic. I am afraid that many of the harsh critics of this movie unfairly compared it to the book(books are almost always better than the corresponding movie due to the imagination factor). I am afraid that many of the critics expected unfairly for it to be all about the Elizabeth Short murder. Maybe they should have read the book. Expectations.

I really enjoyed this movie and did not find it THAT hard to follow. Yes, I got confused a few times but not too much for an initial viewing of this complex movie. So five star to me means superb, four stars-excellent. In my opinion this is a good movie, thus I rate it 3 stars. I really feel that many have not given the movie a fair shake but so be it. We are all entitled to our own opinions. However I do wonder if we have become so conditioned in todays society that if something does not gel with our preconceived notions we prematurely reject it? Something to ponder.

I will keep this movie and watch it again. My copy of Raising Cain on the other hand long ago found the used bins. Now there was a boring movie. Extremely predictable with little surprise element. It remains my least favorite De Palma movie(and the only one I have not kept). May 10, 2008

Good however!!!

If you like China Town, The 2 Jakes and Devil in a Blue Dress, Then you will probably like this movie as well. The film noir mood is the hook.
No........ it isn't as good as any of the first there named above BUT they haven't made any of the above for 10 to 20 years.....and if your mouth is watering for something like the above then this may sooth your apetite.
Better than LA Confidential. April 11, 2008

A twisted plot is not the only problem

The style and the camera movement of the movie is very good. However, the plot is nigh incomprehensible. The main character keeps get flashbacks and has a miracously ability to put all the pieces together with the small pieces of information. I kept thinking, "Yes, but how in the world did he figure out where ...?" Some mysteries like the "Big Sleep" can overcome incomprehensible plots, but these mysteries need a strong lead like Bogart. Unfortunately, Hartnett does not carry the film. He's ok, but he can't carry all the deadweight of the plot. Swank seems to be channeling both Bette Davis and Harlowe at the same time. Johanssen has a very strange character.

The movie was disappointing.

April 6, 2008

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